Through A Nightingale's Eyes

Disclaimer I do not own any of Tolkien's creations. I only own my characters and most of the storyline

RATED "R" FOR LANGUAGE AND POSSIBLY OTHER STUFF

Author's Note: Thanks to all my faithful reviewers. And now…CHAPTER 17!

Chapter 17: Arrival and the Betrothal Ball

A week later…

"Legolas! Legolas!" a perky, yet gentle voice echoed through the throne room. The elf prince looked up as he sat on the throne that would soon be his and braced his hands on the armrests. The next thing he knew, soft lips were on his own and he found himself kissing back. He brought one hand to the she-elf's cheek and pulled away, looking into her sparkling green eyes.

"Hello, Nessa," he replied soothingly, trying to sound pleased to see her.

"Oh, can you believe it…only a week until our wedding!"

"I know. It shall be a moment to remember, my love." In his mind, he grimaced at calling her that. Still, he had to obey the orders his father had given him. It had been the plan that if he survived the war, he would wed Nessa, a close friend of the royal family. Still, she meant nothing to him. She was just a young elleth who was dying to be with him. Yes, they had slept together on many occasions and he had brought her to immense pleasure, but it was not so for him. He was looking for something much more that what was in this one's soul.

That's why he had wanted Kayla. She was all he thought of, considering he still wore her necklace tucked beneath his tunic. It was almost as if he could still feel her. It was as if she was there, gently watching over him…yet he knew it couldn't be. She had decided to stay behind in her world, a world which tormented her and broke her into many pieces. Why? He had no clue. All Legolas knew was that he wanted her to travel to Middle Earth with him and become the new princess of Mirkwood…and soon the queen.

"Legolas? Legolas!"

"What? Oh…Nessa, I'm sorry. My mind was drifting again."

"Recalling last night and how much you want to repeat it?" she asked with a small smile.

"Of course, melamin (My love)," he whispered, indulging the fantasy she craved. He knew it was working better than planned, especially when her dexterous fingers had begun to undo his tunic. "Nessa…we should wait."

"But you know that I want to be with you. Can't we just steal a moment here? No one would dare enter, and if they did they would retreat immediately."

"You know that Elrond, Elrohir, Elladan, and Lúthien are arriving within-" He was interrupted by loud trumpets echoing from the outside. "See…they're here," he stated quickly as he re-clasped his tunic and stood, gently taking his fiancé by the arm. They both slowly walked through the tunnels, Nessa clinging to Legolas as if he would slip through her fingers within the next moment.

They arrived at the front gates rather quickly and took their places beside King Thranduil and his wife. Legolas' eyes were intensely focused on the four elves traveling toward them. He could clearly see Elrohir and Elladan in front, so he knew that Elrond and Lúthien would be right behind them. He watched as the twins dismounted their grey horses, which were taken to the stables by servants. They were still the same playful tricksters, but something else was in the air around them…like they were distraught on an important matter. His eyes then traveled to Elrond, who had just dismounted, who looked as respectable and noble as he always did, but when his eyes fell on Lúthien, his heart stopped.

She was standing next to her white horse, gently stroking its mane and whispering something inaudible to even his Elven ears. The top layer of her dark hair was pulled back and being held by a few light pink jeweled flowers to compliment the soft rose color of her dress. As a few servants strolled over and took her horse to the stables, her cerulean blue eyes turned to Legolas and a small hesitant smile crossed her lips, before it disappeared just as quickly. The elf prince just stared at her, his eyes soft. He remembered how much she reminded him of Kayla, yet he knew that it wasn't her. This was Elrond's daughter, for he never knew her granddaughter…or even if she had one.

Kayla slowly walked toward them, her heart pounding so loudly within her ears that she thought she would explode. She was keeping up her Lúthien charade fairly well, but deep down in her heart she was being torn into pieces. She knew that Elrond and the twins could sense it, but if Legolas did…this was sure to end horribly. She joined her family in the greetings, exchanging kisses on the brow and hands, but when she came to Legolas, their eyes locked firmly. He took her hand gently in his and kissed it, but their gazes refused to change. It was as if they were looking through each other, rather than at each other. "Pleasure to see you again, my lady," he stated, sensing something odd.

"It's…also a pleasure to see you again, my lord Legolas. Congratulations on the betrothal," Kayla replied, a phony, yet believable smile appearing on her face.

"Hannon le (Thank you)," he said calmly as he finally released her hand and took Nessa by the arm as if he actually cared what happened to her. Well, in a sense he did care. It wasn't like he wanted her to meet an untimely doom…he just didn't want to marry her. He wanted love, not some arrangement.

"Well, I believe that all of you would like to take rest before the ball tonight," King Thranduil stated softly, "So you may take leave to your rooms. My servants shall lead you there." The four from Imladris smiled politely and then took their leave. Kayla smiled to herself, knowing she had fooled Legolas, but what she didn't realize was that he was watching her as she left.

Kayla stood in front of her mirror that night, a small smile on her face as she ran a brush through her long hair. She hadn't decided on what to do with it yet. All she knew was that she had to wear her delicate silver headdress or Elrond would have a fit. This was a celebration of a blossoming love between an elf prince and the maiden of his dreams. At least, that's what she believed. She was here to support them and wish them the absolute best…

"Yeah right," she muttered to herself as she threw the brush down on the dresser and went over to the closet. She had brought along some beautiful but simple dresses to wear during the week or so she would be spending in Mirkwood, and she needed to find one that would compliment her without drawing too much attention to herself. She didn't want revenge on Legolas. She just wanted to let these next few days pass as quickly as possible…and if she happened to confuse him, it would only bring more of a smile to her face. "Hm…what to wear?" she whispered as she ran her hands along the colorful dresses.

"I'd say the light blue one with the open back, Kay." Kayla froze at the sound of the voice she knew all too well. Her heart stopped as she turned around, and standing in her doorway was an elf maiden. Her hair was long and blonde, but the tips were purple! Her eyes were a dark brown and a wide smile was spread across her face.

"K-Kiki!" Kayla almost screeched.

"Actually…it's Kikilien (pronounced Key-klee-n)," the elleth said jokingly as she ran toward her friend and embraced her out of pure joy.

"I can't believe you're here! You're an elf?"

"I'm Legolas' sister, dummy!"

"You're what? But…you…you tried to kiss him in 2004. That's just sick, girl. Wait…how is all this possible?" Kikilien just smiled and shut the bedroom door before she began her long and crazy story…

"Okay, you know how I was always encouraging you to keep together with Legolas?" Kayla nodded. "Well, that was my mission. You know that your mother was an elleth of Imladris, the daughter of Elrond that you are pretending to be. She…like…you see, it was a wish of hers that her daughter be wed to the prince of Mirkwood. She had watched him grow up and knew that you would be the perfect one for him. You were born here…well…in Middle Earth anyway."

"No, Kiki. I was born at a hospital in New England. There are pictures-"

"All frauds, sweetie. You were born as an elleth, but it wasn't revealed to anyone except your grandfather and your aunt and uncles. It was because Lúthien chose to live in David's world that you became human. You would age as they would, but once you returned…well…let's just say that you're not as young as you think you are."

"How old am I?" Kayla asked, her eyes interested.

"Two-thousand…same as me."

"I'M TWO-THOUSAND!"

"Shh! You want anyone to hear you? Yes…you're two-thousand years old."

"Damn…that's old. My aunt is only seven-hundred and seventy-seven years older than me then?" Kiki pondered the thought for a moment and then nodded her head. "Time passes faster here I guess than in my old world."

"No kidding, Kay. Now…are you and Leggy getting back together or not? His fiancé is a total bitch. I'm sick of her and her annoying requests. 'Kikilien, bring me water. Kikilien, go fetch my future husband. Kikilien-'"

"Okay, girl…I get it. About me and Legolas…I don't think it's going to happen. You got me to return to my true world, but I don't think I could ever be with your brother. He's…he's getting married and seems to be in love with Nessa."

"If I know my bro, he's still in love with you."

"Well, I'm afraid that even if he is…which I'm not saying he is…he lost his chance."

"Whatever, Kay. Now…let's get you ready for the ball tonight. You're gonna make the other elves drop dead!"

"I'm not here to do that. This is about Legolas and Nessa…not me…"

"Well…then it's all the more fun."

Legolas sat on edge all through the ball that night. The dinner had gone as planned, his father announcing everything that was to come for this week, but something was still bothering the elf prince…and it wasn't, for once, Nessa's clinging. In fact, she had been out dancing with many of the other elves that night, leaving him seated on his throne next to his father. Normally, he would be out dancing with many a maiden, but for some reason he couldn't bear himself to stand…let alone waltz. "My son, choose an elleth and dance," his father whispered softly, sensing a troubling feeling from Legolas.

"Ada (Father), I cannot. Something is holding me to my seat and I don't feel well enough to enjoy tonight. I fear that I will embarrass the family."

"You will do fine, Legolas. You're just nervous about the wedding. Just relax and enjoy the party. Why don't you take Lúthien around the dance floor? She is a guest after all, and has been missing for many years."

"Alright, Father," Legolas stated reluctantly as he stood from his throne and strode gracefully across the room. He could see Lúthien speaking with her brothers over a glass of wine and laughing soothingly about something. He could not tell what, for her back was turned. As he approached her, she instantly turned as if sensing him and smiled politely. He had to admit that she looked lovely. Her dress was almost backless, had draping sleeves that practically covered her hands, and was a light sky blue with silver designs of roses. The circlet she wore in her hair was a stunning and shimmering silver, fit for a Rivendell princess.

"Hello, my lord," she stated.

"Good evening, Lady Lúthien. May I ask how your night has been?"

"Wonderful, thanks. I've enjoyed many dances with my brothers, as well as that advisor of yours, Amder. Very enjoyable. And you?"

"About the same…just…enjoyable." He paused for a moment and looked into her bright blue eyes. She seemed sincere and pleasant, but there was something more intriguing beneath her masked emotions. Perhaps he could discover what it was. "Would you care to dance?" he asked gently as he held out his hand. Lúthien simply handed her glass to Elrohir, who almost dropped it, and took the prince's hand as he led her out to the middle of the floor.

Kayla was laughing inside, but maintaining the perfect behavior on the outside. She knew that Legolas was freaking out. It was almost as if she could hear his agony. She placed her left hand on his shoulder and let him hold her right hand softly. She followed him gracefully as he swept her across the floor, from the turns to the twinkles (a ballroom dance step in waltz and foxtrot). She was amazed at what a fantastic dancer he was, but it was not surprising. He was, after all, the prince of Mirkwood. It would make sense that he knew how to ballroom dance.

She kept her eyes on his most of the time, but when they would turn and she would come back to his arms, she would look over his shoulder to give the dance attitude. The two of them began dancing around and around, causing some of the elves to stop dancing and back away. Everyone watched them, their eyes filled with awe and amazement, especially Nessa…except she was more shocked at the fact that he was dancing with her, and how he was dancing with her. Legolas stared down at Kayla intensely, his eyes never leaving hers, the room spinning around them. Then suddenly, he stopped, turned her in a circle and dipped her as the song ended.

Everyone around them started applauding as the two just stood there. Elladen and Elrohir were bracing each other to keep from falling, Elrond dropped his glass of wine (which no one noticed), and Nessa just watched with her eyes confused as always. She was not alone in that, for King Thranduil and his queen shared the same look.

Kayla and Legolas just stared at one another, breathing deeply. They had not said a word during the dance, but obviously this wasn't something that needed speech. It was all attitude. Kayla possessed the anger and beauty, while Legolas the strength and serenity. It was a perfect match. Abruptly, Legolas lifted Kayla to her feet, bowed, and turned on his heel to depart the hall. Kayla watched him leave, her arms resting at her sides and an indescribable look on her face. What just happened? She had no clue, but whatever it was…it was bad.

that, she turned and strode from the room, grabbing her weapons as she went.